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Florida has just landed the 25th spot in a new study by the WalletHub website that examines equality between white and Black students in educational progress among the 50 states, based on six key dimensions.
Florida earned a total score of 45.67 in the study by the personal finances website, with the maximum score being 100. The key educational dimensions in terms of differences between blacks and whites are the share of adults with at least a high school diploma, share of adults with at least a four-year degree, standardized test scores, mean SAT score, average ACT score and public high school graduation rate.
Despite the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, school districts today with high concentrations of white students receive $23 billion more annually than those with high percentages of non-white students, according to the WalletHub analysis. Such disparities can lead to unequal educational outcomes, the researchers said.
State Rankings on Racial Equality in Education
| Overall Rank (1=Most Equality) | State | Total Score |
| 1 | Wyoming | 75.03 |
| 2 | West Virginia | 74.91 |
| 3 | Montana | 74.76 |
| 4 | New Mexico | 71.61 |
| 5 | Idaho | 71.52 |
| 6 | New Hampshire | 64.61 |
| 7 | Vermont | 63.78 |
| 8 | Texas | 59.76 |
| 9 | Arizona | 59.36 |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 59.08 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 56.98 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 56.66 |
| 13 | Arkansas | 54.26 |
| 14 | North Dakota | 53.71 |
| 15 | Georgia | 51.84 |
| 16 | Hawaii | 51.79 |
| 17 | Delaware | 50.28 |
| 18 | Alabama | 49.93 |
| 19 | Oregon | 49.66 |
| 20 | Mississippi | 49.42 |
| 21 | Nevada | 48.96 |
| 22 | Maine | 47.55 |
| 23 | Indiana | 47.16 |
| 24 | Washington | 46.41 |
| 25 | Florida | 45.67 |
| 26 | North Carolina | 45.26 |
| 27 | Rhode Island | 45.23 |
| 28 | Missouri | 44.11 |
| 29 | California | 42.75 |
| 30 | Alaska | 42.22 |
| 31 | Louisiana | 41.35 |
| 32 | Utah | 41.30 |
| 33 | Maryland | 39.66 |
| 34 | Nebraska | 39.10 |
| 35 | Kansas | 37.02 |
| 36 | Michigan | 36.86 |
| 37 | Virginia | 36.56 |
| 38 | Colorado | 36.30 |
| 39 | Ohio | 35.41 |
| 40 | Iowa | 35.04 |
| 41 | New Jersey | 34.70 |
| 42 | South Carolina | 33.29 |
| 43 | Illinois | 33.06 |
| 44 | South Dakota | 31.14 |
| 45 | Massachusetts | 29.71 |
| 46 | New York | 28.48 |
| 47 | Pennsylvania | 28.29 |
| 48 | Connecticut | 23.88 |
| 49 | Minnesota | 21.58 |
| 50 | Wisconsin | 13.44 |
WalletHub determined states with the most racial equality in education by comparing the 50 states across six relevant metrics:
- Share of Adults (population aged 25 or older) with at Least a High School Degree
- Share of Adults (population aged 25 or older) with at Least a Bachelor’s Degree
- Standardized-Test Scores (*based on the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP))
- Mean SAT Score
- Average ACT Score
- Public High School Graduation Rate
